Appropriate Recall Interval for Periodontal Maintenance: A Systematic Review.

Area of Science:

• Periodontology
• Evidence-based dentistry

Background:

• Determining optimal recall intervals for periodontal maintenance (PM) is crucial for long-term treatment success.
• Current recommendations often suggest 3-6 month intervals, but robust evidence supporting a specific fixed interval is debated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the existing literature and assess the evidence supporting specific time intervals between periodontal maintenance visits.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was conducted across MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PubMed up to April 2014.
• Eight cohort studies were included after initial screening of 1095 abstracts/titles.
• Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) guidelines were used for study evaluation; authors were contacted for missing data.

Main Results:

• No randomized controlled trials were identified; all included studies were cohort studies.
• Shorter PM intervals (3-6 months) were associated with greater teeth retention, though statistical significance varied.
• Significant tooth loss differences were observed when recall intervals approached 12 months.

Conclusions:

• The evidence supporting a fixed 3-6 month recall interval for all patients post-periodontal therapy is currently weak.
• Further research, including randomized controlled trials and large database evaluations, is warranted.
• Exploring risk-based recommendations for PM intervals over fixed regimens is suggested.